Mmmm..The Sweet Smell of Blackberries...

Having revived my love of Jam making a few weeks ago when I made raspberry jam, http://neinahavelin.blogspot.com/2010/08/capturing-taste-of-summer.html (sorry I haven't figured out how to subtly link back to previous posts..., however I put it in in order to create context if you haven't read that specific post on which I'm blethering about...!!!)  anyway... SOOOO....,,,

 I became inspired by  the last of the season blackberries and decided to make seedless blackberry jam, (or jelly as some folks call it.)  In England "Jelly" is something that we make for a child's birthday party, or use in a trifle..., usually very brightly colored, containing gelatin or "Jello" as its known in this part of the world. Anyway, I digress...  Making jam is very satisfying..., and as most of the jars of raspberry jam have already  been eaten or given away as gifts... I set to and made some dark and delicious blackberry jelly...    I had to take some photo's, because I love the color combination of Black and Green, and its not one I see very often...

I love the faded green of the squash, the velvet blackness of the viola's (Viola Sorbet - Black Delight,) and of course the little jars of lustrous purply black jelly.....  its so...., rich...

Do you have favorite color combinations that just make you light up inside when you see them???

Season's Of Mist...

This morning I woke to the muffled, mournful sound of the ferryboat horn,  sending out its warning moans into the hazy fog of the Puget Sound...  I love these early fall mornings... heavy dew dripping from the shrubs and trees..., the fog seems to soften and mellow all the sounds of the morning... outside,  everything seems more accessible in a way, more exposed..., as if all the leaves and fruits know that this is their last hurrah, and want to say something before they fall, and surrender to the coldness...

Little by little, I am being coaxed by this natural world around me, to let go of the "idea" of summer and allow Autumn to be gently ushered in...  If I'm honest with myself, when I fully pay attention and see the beauty that is all around me..., I actually love this time of year, as John Keats wrote in his poem "To Autumn," now is the "season of mists, and mellow fruitfulness."... and its beautiful...

To Autumn

~ By John Keats

Season of Mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, an plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store:

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours

Where are the songs of spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, -

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hill bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

For those of you who like to have their poetry read to them, check out this link  to the BBC's recording of some of John Keats poems... - lovely...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/romantics/poems3.shtml

Nip In The Air...

Yesterday I took some time to practice with my new camera, out in the garden, camera in one hand, cup of tea in the other, I couldn't help but notice a little nip in the air...  Chickadees flitted about my head as I tried to get a good shot of them..., I think they'll perch and linger longer, once they get used to me...  This one little fellow was fairly obliging..., but at a distance... I love my zoom lens...

I love these little Chinese Lanterns Physalis

Last of the blackberries...

Bright red Hawthorne berries...

The swallows gather in a fir tree, they seemed fidgety, ready for 

heading south...

With the threat of cold weather, I feel like going south too...

The Wishing Tree...

The Wishing Tree....

Today is the anniversary of 9/11...  wherever we went today, we saw reminders of the horrific events of September 11th, 2001..., people patriotically waving huge Stars & Stripes flags on freeway overpasses, special programming on many of the t.v showed over and over again the mass destruction, the fear and anguish on the faces of innocent people...,  flags everywhere flew at half mast...

I found it challenging to think about blogging and love today, as again and again I was reminded of what happened 9 years ago, and feelings of dread returned and the sense of helplessness flooded in.

Though the day had started grey, towards afternoon the sun began to shine, and we decided to go to the local park for a walk... Getting fresh air and exercise is always a great way to lift the spirits..., and on this day, it was just what I needed...

Walking into the park we noticed several people standing near a tree who's branches were festooned with brown paper tags fluttering in the breeze...

At the base of the tree we found a bag with an explanation...

Inside the bag were blank cardboard tags, twine and waterproof pens.. the instructions said "a wish tree.... for anyone who has a wish."

The Wish Tree was festooned with hundreds of tags, covered in peoples written wishes...

Our hearts were touched, as we stood and read the wishes of so many anonymous people, who'd put their hearts desire on a piece of card to be shared by the world...

What a beautiful thing for someone to think of sharing with the world..., today I was shown, there is always beauty to be found, if we have eyes to look and a hearts that are open...

If you could make a wish - for anything...., what would it be?

  

Pink Flower Collection...

Ok, so I must confess, I have be remiss in prepping for Pink Saturday this week... so, I'd like to celebrate this week with looking back through the past year and sharing my favorite Pink Flower Pictures...

It seems that the warm days of summer have gone, and in its place the days are cool and grey, spiders are busy making their way inside houses, as if they know its time to seek shelter.., the swallows flit and swoop anxiously as if preparing themselves for their winter journey...

Happy Pink Saturday everyone..., http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Enjoy the last vestiges of summer everyone, and ready yourself for Autumn.

Fun with the new camera...

Well, after prompting from my friend Carol, who left a comment saying she "expected lots of photo's" on yesterday's post ... Here are a few shots taken in the garden after heavy rains last night.. with my exciting new camera...

I must admit I felt a little intimidated by it,  but I found that once I got started this morning,  I had a hard time stopping, I was having so much fun...., but then I remembered.., I had to get myself to work...,,, preferably before noon!

I know I've got a lot to learn, and the camera has a lot of potential.., but I'm already getting a hint of the lovely images that are possible... So here you go Carol... enjoy....

Hydrangea 

Smoke Bush ~ cotinus

Phygelus 

Mexican Gorda

A very large arachnid sniffing the Mums... eek!

The Garden Guardian...

The other day as I wandered through the garden to pick some herbs, I paused to check on the little seedlings of Tuscan Kale and onions I'd planted a month ago..., I was surprised and delighted to see that despite getting very little attention from me (a little watering, and some sluggo sprinkled to keep the slimey plant slurper slugs at bay,) the "little" plants had grown almost a foot tall..., as I stood wondering what  had happened to make these plants flourish, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a little snake curled up warming himself on a nearby rock...  

I imagined this little snake being the guardian of my little vegetables plants.  He looked so content and at peace on the warm rock... his snake spirit scaring any slugs and bugs that might consider dining on the tender young plants... Thankssssssssss little snake....

Below is a Mary Oliver poem ~ enjoy...

Ribbon Snake Asleep In The Sun

~ Mary Oliver

I come upon him and he is 

startled; he glides

to the rock's rim; he wheels, setting in motion

the stripes of his body, yet not going

anywhere.  And though the books say

it can't be done, since his eyes are set

too far apart in the narrow skull, I'm not

lying when I say that he lifts his face and looks

into my eyes and I look back until

we are both staring hard

at each other.  He wants to know 

just where in this bright, blue-faced world

he might be safe.  He wants to go on with the

flow of his life.  Then he straightens

his shining back and drops

from the rocks and rockets through

the tangle of weeds, sliding, as he goes, over

my bare foot.  Then it vanishes

into the shade and the grass, down to

some slubby stream, having

startled me in return.  But this is a

small matter.  What I would speak of, rather,

is the weightless string of his actually soft and 

nervous body; the nameless stars of its eyes.